Scenery quality in Microsoft's Flight Simulator franchise has improved drastically over the years. Even so, the default textures seem to always leave room for improvement.
Take your flight simming experience to the next level with one of these top-rated scenery expansion packs for FSX.
1. Photoreal America -- Sim Savvy
This is the first version of Sim-Savvy's "Massive Scenery Collection." And it's massive alright! The program includes photo-based textures to cover all of the U.S. mainland--a whopping 400 GB of scenery.
Where does all this data come from? The USDA's National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), which takes 1 meter/pixel aerial photos every 2 years of continental U.S.
Worried about the size of the program? Fear not, a 1 TB external hard drive is included with your purchase. The program comes pre-loaded on the bundled hard drive, and can run from it directly.
The software does come with a hefty price: $199 USD. Despite the significant price tag, this is still a worthwhile investment in the long run; you are entitled to free updates whenever they become available.
2. Ground Environment X USA & Canada -- Flight1
At $34.95, this add-on is an affordable alternative to Photoreal America. GEX replaces the default FSX scenery with stunning 1024x1024 pixel images that have a 1 meter/pixel resolution.
One advantage of GEX over Photoreal America is that GEX includes night textures while Sim Savvy's product does not.
Flight simmers say that the scenery enhancements you'll see with GEX are subtle but noticeable. GEX takes boring white road lines and transforms them into major expressways and roads flowing with traffic.
With GEX you also get a better "blending of seasons." Textures for the Fall and Spring mark a much more natural transition to winter and summer.
Despite the enhanced details, users say that frame rates aren't affected much.
3. Megascenery Bundle: Hawaii, Las Vegas, Reno -- PC Aviator
This $20 bundle, gives you wonderful scenery for 3 popular cities.
Megascenery Bundle fills the void left by Ground Environment X and Photoreal America, which do not include Hawaii. While you only get scenery for Ohau island, the photorealistic textures are amazing. View a few screenshots on the megascenery.com website and see for yourself. The ground looks exactly like what you'd see in real life--distinct neighborhoods, enclaves of homes, and major expressways with traffic.
Over 2,100 square miles of city landscape, rocky mountains, hilltops are included with the Las Vegas textures. The only drawback is the fact that the program doesn't enhance any of the 3D buildings on the Vegas Strip.
4. Megascenery X: Southern California -- PC Aviator
I live in Los Angeles, so I'm always eager to get my hands on the newest SoCal add-ons as soon as they hit the market. I was delighted by the scenery quality in Megascenery X. The level of detail is incredible. I was able to pick out my high school, my neighborhood, and even my house!
Like the Megascenery Bundle, this program doesn't add any 3D objects to the area, but several other features make up for it. For one, I actually had better frame rates with the add-on scenery compared to the default scenery. For another, night textures are included with this program, which is something you don't get with most scenery add-ons.
5. Manhattan X -- Aerosoft
Putting together an intricate computer version of Manhattan is surely a difficult endeavor. In spite of this, Aerosoft has done a wonderful job in creating Manhattan X.
All of Manhattan is completely remastered in impressive detail. Not only is there a load of 3D automobile traffic, you'll also see the regularly scheduled Staten Island Ferry and something else that's typically absent from most flight sims--people!
Another great feature is the "sightseeing mission" where you tour the city in a helicopter. Starting at the Wall Street heliport, the mission involves flying around the city with a co-pilot who also serves as a tour guide. With a thick Brooklyn accent, your tour-guide points out areas of interest and supplements the mission with interesting historical tidbits pertaining to the landmarks you encounter.
Users say they get frame rates between 15 and 35 FPS on an Intel Quad Core machine with 2 GB of RAM. In the user's manual, Aerosoft explains exactly how you should tweak the FSX display settings to maximize performance.
Take your flight simming experience to the next level with one of these top-rated scenery expansion packs for FSX.
1. Photoreal America -- Sim Savvy
This is the first version of Sim-Savvy's "Massive Scenery Collection." And it's massive alright! The program includes photo-based textures to cover all of the U.S. mainland--a whopping 400 GB of scenery.
Where does all this data come from? The USDA's National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP), which takes 1 meter/pixel aerial photos every 2 years of continental U.S.
Worried about the size of the program? Fear not, a 1 TB external hard drive is included with your purchase. The program comes pre-loaded on the bundled hard drive, and can run from it directly.
The software does come with a hefty price: $199 USD. Despite the significant price tag, this is still a worthwhile investment in the long run; you are entitled to free updates whenever they become available.
2. Ground Environment X USA & Canada -- Flight1
At $34.95, this add-on is an affordable alternative to Photoreal America. GEX replaces the default FSX scenery with stunning 1024x1024 pixel images that have a 1 meter/pixel resolution.
One advantage of GEX over Photoreal America is that GEX includes night textures while Sim Savvy's product does not.
Flight simmers say that the scenery enhancements you'll see with GEX are subtle but noticeable. GEX takes boring white road lines and transforms them into major expressways and roads flowing with traffic.
With GEX you also get a better "blending of seasons." Textures for the Fall and Spring mark a much more natural transition to winter and summer.
Despite the enhanced details, users say that frame rates aren't affected much.
3. Megascenery Bundle: Hawaii, Las Vegas, Reno -- PC Aviator
This $20 bundle, gives you wonderful scenery for 3 popular cities.
Megascenery Bundle fills the void left by Ground Environment X and Photoreal America, which do not include Hawaii. While you only get scenery for Ohau island, the photorealistic textures are amazing. View a few screenshots on the megascenery.com website and see for yourself. The ground looks exactly like what you'd see in real life--distinct neighborhoods, enclaves of homes, and major expressways with traffic.
Over 2,100 square miles of city landscape, rocky mountains, hilltops are included with the Las Vegas textures. The only drawback is the fact that the program doesn't enhance any of the 3D buildings on the Vegas Strip.
4. Megascenery X: Southern California -- PC Aviator
I live in Los Angeles, so I'm always eager to get my hands on the newest SoCal add-ons as soon as they hit the market. I was delighted by the scenery quality in Megascenery X. The level of detail is incredible. I was able to pick out my high school, my neighborhood, and even my house!
Like the Megascenery Bundle, this program doesn't add any 3D objects to the area, but several other features make up for it. For one, I actually had better frame rates with the add-on scenery compared to the default scenery. For another, night textures are included with this program, which is something you don't get with most scenery add-ons.
5. Manhattan X -- Aerosoft
Putting together an intricate computer version of Manhattan is surely a difficult endeavor. In spite of this, Aerosoft has done a wonderful job in creating Manhattan X.
All of Manhattan is completely remastered in impressive detail. Not only is there a load of 3D automobile traffic, you'll also see the regularly scheduled Staten Island Ferry and something else that's typically absent from most flight sims--people!
Another great feature is the "sightseeing mission" where you tour the city in a helicopter. Starting at the Wall Street heliport, the mission involves flying around the city with a co-pilot who also serves as a tour guide. With a thick Brooklyn accent, your tour-guide points out areas of interest and supplements the mission with interesting historical tidbits pertaining to the landmarks you encounter.
Users say they get frame rates between 15 and 35 FPS on an Intel Quad Core machine with 2 GB of RAM. In the user's manual, Aerosoft explains exactly how you should tweak the FSX display settings to maximize performance.
About the Author:
Excited about these scenery add-ons? Make sure you have a gaming system with enough power to run them. One of the best laptops for FSX is the Asus G73JW. Check out an Asus G73JW review brought to you by shopguides.net
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